Let’s take a preliminary look at how the rookie class might slot into the big picture.
The Buccaneers welcomed six new players into the fold over the weekend, and their entire 2025 NFL Draft class has a great chance to make the roster come Week 1 kickoff.
So how does their arrival affect current roster names, if at all? Let’s take a quick look at how the depth chart might be shaping up entering off-season workouts and, eventually, training camp.
Undrafted free agents will not be included in this projection, rookies denoted by italicized text.
Quarterback
Baker Mayfield / Kyle Trask / Michael Pratt
No changes or surprises here. Pratt will try to unseat recently re-signed Kyle Trask as primary backup but otherwise Mayfield will go in looking to build on his career season in 2024 (4,500 yards passing, 41 touchdown passes).
Running Back
Bucky Irving / Rachaad White / Sean Tucker / D.J. Williams
No surprises here either. There was some buzz about White being a possible trade candidate last weekend due to an expiring rookie deal and reduced workload given Irving’s explosive debut, but he sticks around as a high-quality RB2 and primary option in the passing game. Tucker should continue providing valuable insurance / change-of-pace snaps here and there, and D.J. Williams is just the practice squad guy.
Wide Receiver
Mike Evans / Trey Palmer / Rakim Jarrett / Dennis Houston
Chris Godwin / Jalen McMillan / Ryan Miller / Marquez Callaway
Emeka Egbuka / Sterling Shepard / Tez Johnson / Kam Johnson / Tanner Knue
Some prominent new prospects will result in the shuffling around of existing ones not named Mike Evans or Chris Godwin.
Egbuka, the team’s first-round pick at 19th overall, will be taking over McMillan’s previously held No. 3 role despite the latter coming on late down the stretch in 2024. They play different roles and have dissimilar skill sets, so it’s not a true one-for-one swap. I would still expect McMillan to get playing time and figure into the team’s long-term plans.
Egbuka is thought to primarily be a slot target, but Todd Bowles was adamant they see him as a do-it-all player who can play across the formation, which theoretically should still allow Godwin to excel in the slot like he has most of his career (as long as his ankle recovery is going well). At the worst, Egbuka provides insurance as Godwin works his way back.
Tez Johnson is diminutive at just 5-foot-10, 154 pounds, but he’s a human joystick with more dynamic playmaking ability than several people already on the roster. He’ll get the inside track at a receiver No. 6 behind Shepard, who’s Mayfield’s guy and provided valuable snaps when injuries struck last year. Johnson’s additional utility as a punt returner boosts his chances.
Tight End
Cade Otton / Payne Durham / Devin Culp / Ko Kieft / Tanner Tuala
Otton remains undisputed TE1 as the Bucs transition offensive playcallers yet again, this time to Josh Grizzard, who seems poised to factor tight ends into his offense even less than last year under Liam Coen. Given the receiver logjam, it’s not unrealistic to assume the Bucs may carry only three guys here on the active roster, which could imperil a blocking-first guy like Ko Kieft, especially given how Otton and Durham have both shown strides in that area. Culp showed some juice late season as a downfield threat so he should factor into the equation.
Offensive Line
LT: Tristan Wirfs / Charlie Heck
LG: Ben Bredeson / Sua Opeta / Raiqwon O’Neal
C: Graham Barton / Jake Majors
RG: Cody Mauch / Elijah Klein / Luke Haggard
RT: Luke Goedeke / Silas Dzansi / Lorenz Metz
I am going to cheat a little and include one UDFA in Jake Majors, who got big guarantees from the Bucs to sign. It’s a shock he wasn’t drafted, both to me and several analysts who firmly graded him as an early-to-mid Day 3 pick. Majors is functionally athletic and impressively intelligent. He was trusted with protections and calls at the line at Texas in a way that few college centers are — that alone speaks well to his chances of making a team that currently has no one else with snapping experience beyond starter Graham Barton.
Other than that, not much has changed. All 5 starters return to form a top-5 offensive line in football. Charlie Heck is the new swing tackle, and Elijah Klein and Sua Opeta should be the top interior line depth. We’ll see if either of the latter gets center cross-training to compete with Majors as the primary backup there.
Defensive Line
DT: Calijah Kancey / C.J. Brewer / Adam Gotsis
NT: Vita Vea / Greg Gaines
DE: Logan Hall / Elijah Roberts / Mike Greene / Eric Banks
Roberts, the team’s fifth-round pick, will immediately slot in as the primary backup behind Logan Hall and might even get 3-technique snaps depending on how his transition from the edge goes. He comes into the pros as a tweener but with clear talent as a pass rusher (led all of FBS in pressures over the last two seasons).
Other than him, there’s not much new to report. The Bucs should be scanning free agency for higher-quality competition to add given how unremarkable names like Brewer and Greene have been.
Edge Rusher
Haason Reddick / Chris Braswell / David Walker / Jose Ramirez
Yaya Diaby / Anthony Nelson / Markees Watts / Daniel Grzesiak
While it didn’t come as early as most expected, the Bucs did spend their first Day 3 pick on a pass rusher to deepen the overall unit. David Walker destroyed FCS competition for the last 3 years in a way few others in recent memory have, and his raw career production (82.5 tackles for loss, 39 sacks) is eye-popping. Frankly, he should’ve been playing FBS ball somewhere, but without that experience he’ll likely be pegged as a healthy scratch on most game days as the rookie adapts his unique frame (6-foot-1, 263 pounds with sub-32” arms) and play style to the pro game.
Even without him though, this figures to be a deeper, more productive unit than it has been in a few years with the addition of Reddick and hopeful improvements of 2024 second-rounder Chris Braswell and third-year stalwart Yaya Diaby.
Inside Linebacker
Sir’Vocea Dennis / Anthony Walker / Deion Jennings
Lavonte David / Deion Jones / Antonio Grier
Perhaps the biggest surprise of Tampa’s 2025 draft class came from what they didn’t pick. Despite heavy struggles at linebacker in 2024, the team decided it was satisfied with a current combination of existing players and free agent signing Anthony Walker.
This is a big bet on third-year player Sir’Vocea Dennis, who has played well in spurts but also struggled with injuries. If he gets hurt again, Walker (who is on the downside of his career but still useful) would likely get significant snaps. That could be trouble.
And while Lavonte David has proven as trustworthy as any player in team history, he is 35 years old and his effectiveness could decline at any point now. Deion Jones being his primary backup doesn’t inspire confidence either.
Cornerback
LCB: Zyon McCollum / Bryce Hall / Tyrek Funderburk / Dallis Flowers
RCB: Jamel Dean / Benjamin Morrison / Kindle Vildor / Josh Hayes
Slot: Jacob Parrish / Christian Izien
Jamel Dean has officially been put on notice.
The Bucs selected a first-round quality talent with the 53rd overall pick in Benjamin Morrison, who could force Tampa’s hand into playing time if he recovers from his hip surgery as expected. Morrison is a physical, polished ballhawk who’s as ready to play right now as any corner in the draft this year. Dean’s history of injuries and inconsistent play make seeing Morrison sooner rather than later a near-certainty it seems, but either way the team is far better equipped to handle those absences now than a year ago.
Other than that, returning Bryce Hall and free agent signing Kindle Vildor should compete to see who handles the other primary backup duties.
Another rookie should be immediately penciled in to start with Kansas State’s Jacob Parrish entering the fold. Given Tykee Smith’s expected move to safety, it opens up a competition with Parrish and Izien. While Izien has been a reliable and fruitful UDFA find, he’s better served as a utility backup who can bounce between nickel and safety as needed.
Parrish is the best athlete in this corner room not named Zyon McCollum. He’s twitchy, fearless, and rapidly ascending at the position. The Bucs might’ve gotten a steal in the third round again.
Safety
FS: Antoine Winfield Jr. / Christian Izien / Rashad Wisdom
SS: Tykee Smith / Kaevon Merriweather / Marcus Banks
Smith moving next to Winfield Jr. should galvanize this unit and form one of the best duos in the league. Smith was excellent as a rookie in 2024 and should have some of his best traits (reliable tackler, read-and-react ability with a quick trigger) complemented in the strong safety role as opposed to the slot. Winfield does his best work as the free safety roaming the backfield, and this reconfiguration will allow him to do more of that.
Izien and Merriweather will both compete to get plenty of run as third safety, which is still a vital role in this defense. It might work best as a timeshare where their different skillsets can be mixed and matched with the other two to meet various circumstances.